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Bike Week in Laconia, NH

WEDNESDAY EDITION: I sent my Yaesu FT7250 back for service, low output and ratty audio. I got it back in two weeks. They did not tell me what was wrong but charged .45 for a pot, $90 for labor, an $34 for postage..you got to be shitting me! I had another one new in the box I bought from a club member so now I have two. They are a rock solid radio, I have had  the repaired radio in the truck for 7-8 years and it has worked great. A 50 watt 2/440 FM/C4FM radio....

NEW YORK – Katie Campbell, KE8LQR, of Columbiana, Ohio, has been selected as the 2025 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year.

Katie, 17, is the daughter of Robert Campbell, KE8LYZ, and Colleen Campbell, KB8VAQ.

Katie was introduced to ham radio at the age of 10 when her school started an amateur radio and electronics club. She was a fifth-grade middle school student at the time and quickly became licensed, advancing her way to an Extra Class ticket by the age of 11.

An honor student heading into her senior year of high school, Katie is president of the Columbiana High School Amateur Radio Club (K8LPS).

She said she was introduced to Morse Code early on and it became her favorite operating mode. 

“I learned CW through the Long Island CW Club,” she explained. “I’m pretty sure I found out about that just through my mom being on Facebook and seeing a posting about it right when they started.”

Katie became an instructor for the group and still teaches classes on sending and receiving Morse Code over Zoom as well as to members of her school club.

Katie attended Youth on the Air camps in Cincinnati in 2022 and Ottawa in 2023. Since then, she has been part of the planning staff for subsequent YOTA camps, and serves as a mentor to campers and handles public relations and social media postings for YOTA.

She was part of the K3LR IOTA Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX Adventure in 2023 and returned in 2024 to the K3LR site to lead the CW operations.

Katie is very active on the HF bands and operates in the ARRL and CQ DX SSB and CW contests, ARRL Sweepstakes and CQ WPX, as well as Youth on the Air events.

Katie has made presentations on the role of youth in amateur radio and contesting at the Dayton Hamvention, Orlando Hamcation and SEAPAC.

Katie received the Radio Club of America’s Young Ham Lends a Hand Award and the Young Amateur Communications Ham Team Friendship Recognition Award.

She also was selected as the ARRL Great Lakes Division Young Ham of the Year and has been serving as the ARRL Assistant Youth Section Coordinator for Ohio.

Katie is the net control for the Ohio Section Youth Net, which she started four years ago.

She also has served as the Young Ladies Radio League youth chairwoman and is a regular contributor to DX Engineering’s “OnAllBands” blog.

In her Columbiana school life, Katie has served as class president, student council member, various honor societies and has participated in speech and debate, theater, academic competitions and the school band.

Katie is the recent recipient of the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship. She will spend her senior year of high school studying abroad in Germany.

The YHOTY award will be presented to Katie on the “Ham Nation” program on July 30, 2025 , by host Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

Amateur Radio Newsline and Yaesu USA are primary sponsors of the award, along with Heil Sound, Ltd. and Radiowavz Antenna Company.

 The Young Ham of the Year Award was inaugurated by William Pasternak, WA6ITF, in 1986. Upon his passing in 2015, Bill’s name was added to the award as a memorial to his commitment to recognizing the accomplishments of young people to the Amateur Radio Service.

 

TUESDAY EDITION: A nice start to the day with sun and heat, a good day to go to the dump with the limb I took down the other day to clear the way and mount a new 2/440 Diamaond vertical antenna. I have room now to mount another wire antenna. I have a new Cobra Senior and also a new G5RV I have been meaning to put up and compare.

Ham Radio Publication Round-up

SWR
The Caribbean Amateur Radio Group has published their second issue of SWR which features DIY, Hamvention 2025, demystifying ALC, and ham radio ABCs. Viewers can sign-up for the free newsletter.

Amateur Television Journal
The July issue (PDF) features application notes, a call for submissions, Field Day ops, and new product announcements.

The Communicator
The July/August edition of The Communicator celebrates 50 years of the Surrey Amateur Radio Club. An astounding 130 pages of content includes calls for more data repeaters, a look inside rubber duck antennas, DLARC, 6 meter beacons, pico balloons, special events, and more.

The Logger's Bark
The July issue of The Logger's Bark (PDF) also weighs in at 130 pages including articles featuring the AB577 "Rocket Launcher" portable radio tower, Sea-Pac 2025 wrap-up, the open source TR1-EP DIY SDR, Putikeeg Model 20 Straight Key review, and more.

Zero Retries
Issue 0209 includes VARA FM - 12.5 kHz Bandwidth Versus 25 kHz Bandwidth, Jim Boddie NG2J - Silent Keyboard, ADRCS (IP400) Press Release, Radio Module 2 and DreamHAT+ - Unusual Radio Modules, HydraSDR RFOne.

The Random Wire
Issue 138 highlights Zero Retries Digital Conference registration, new Tecsun receiver, AllScan UCI90 interface, and trying the reRouter as an AllStar node.

ARDC
The May/June newsletter from ARDC features the 44Net Portal released as open source, grantee updates, and what ARDC has been up to.

The Canadian Amateur (Membership required)

QST (Membership required)
Topics include Second Century: IARU Restructuring (PDF). A free article, HamSCI: The Future of Ham Radio is Here, is available for download (PDF).

US Radio Orienteering Champs Crowned

The 24th USA Radio Orienteering Championships were held June 19 – 22, 2025. The event was hosted by the Backwoods Orienteering Klub (BOK) at Morrow Mountain State Park in Albemarle, North Carolina, and drew about 30 athletes from across the United States and Canada. Radio orienteering is also known as amateur radio direction-finding, or ARDF.

There were four World Championship-style races: Foxoring, Sprint, 2m Classic and 80m Classic. 

The Elite results:

  • Eduard Nasybulin (Massachusetts), unofficial overall crown, dominated the men’s field, winning Sprint, 2m and 80m Classics, and adding silver in Foxoring. 
  • Gheorghe Fala (North Carolina/BOK) seized Foxoring gold and finished second to Nasybulin in 2m and 80m Classics.
  • In W35 (women ages 35 and older), Lori Huberman (California Bay Area Orienteering Club) captured Foxoring and Sprint, while Erin Hammer (NC/BOK) sprinted to 2m and 80m Classics gold and added silver in the other formats.

Masters stand-outs:

  • Nadia Scharlau, KO4ADV (North Carolina/BOK), extended her W55 (women ages 55 and older) legacy with victories in both 2m and 80m Classics.
  • The M60 class (men ages 60 and older) became a two-way battle: Evgeny Danilov, KQ4QYZ, and Nicolai Mejevoi traded wins and podium spots across all four events, with Mejevoi topping the Sprint and 80m Classic races while Danilov took 2m Classic and Foxoring gold.

Senior competitors:

Every entrant in the M70 (men 70 and older) and W75 (women 75 and older) divisions completed at least three of the four demanding courses. Their steady performances — and obvious enjoyment — underscored the value of adding senior categories to future championships.

Youth sweep:

BOK junior Tiger Zhao claimed a perfect four-event sweep in M16 (men 16 and under) and teammates Anastasia Afonkin W16 (women 16 and under) and Adalia Schafrath-Craig W19 (women 19 and younger) also took golds — some with times that would have placed competitively in older divisions.

Team USA will go on to compete at the 2025 IARU World Championships, to be held in Lithuania in August. The complete results of these championships, available at the BOK website, will be used for selecting the US team. Learn more about amateur radio direction finding on the ARRL ARDF page. 

Square a Voltage

Your design task, should you decide to accept it: given an input voltage, square it. Ok, that’s too hard since squaring 8 volts would give you 64 volts, so let’s say the output should be 10% of the square, so 8 volts in would result in 6.4V. How do you do it? [Engineering Prof.] knows how and will show you what you can do in the video below.

The circuit uses two op amps and some transistors. However, the transistors are used in a way that depends on the temperature, so it is important to use a transistor array so they are matched and will all be at the same temperature.

The math depends on the fact that the transistor response has a natural log term in it, and the property that the sum of two logs is the same as the log of the product of the numbers.

Because of the matching transistors, many of the terms in the equation cancel out. Because the transistors are current devices, the transistor circuit’s output current is the input current squared divided by the output transistor’s collector current. Then it is just a matter of converting the voltage to a current and back again using the right scaling.

There’s more to it, of course, but that’s the gist of it. You can dig into the math by watching the video. If the KCL references are fuzzy for you, here’s a refresher. Squaring a voltage would be pretty important for an analog computer.

MONDAY EDITION: This weekend was picture perfect for all the 4th actvities, a great kickoff to a summer of fun here on the island.

Are Service Loops a Good Idea?

Well, here’s an interesting idea: the service loop. Ever heard of it? We haven’t!

In the video, the presenter explains the service loop serves two purposes: on the one hand it may provide strain relief, but chiefly these loops are installed so there will be extra available slack in the cable if you need to rewire it some day to change the configuration of your pinout.

One major problem with the service loop may be that the single turn is enough to create an inductor which will then induce noise and cross-talk all over the place. Our rule of thumb is always to completely unroll wires and cables before using them. Do you have a theory about the benefits or problems with service loops? If you do, we’d love to hear what you think in the comments!

If you’re interested in strain relief, we’ve covered that before, and you don’t need a service loop to do it! Check out Cheap Strain Relief By Casting Hot Glue In A 3D Print and Arduino Uno Strain Relief.

FCC NEWS regarding recent budget

 

JULY 4TH WEEKEND EDITION: Nice parade, great cookouts, and the bonfire from the boat....

Peninsula amateur radio clubs look to connect with a younger generation

Four clubs set up together in Hampton for 2025’s annual amateur radio field day.

Virginia: The airwaves were especially active over the weekend as amateur radio enthusiasts gathered across the U.S. and Canada to showcase the hobby and, for some, try to best thousands of competitors over 24 hours.

But while some clubs strived to rack up points for connecting with other operators around the continent, that wasn’t the focus for a quartet of Peninsula clubs that set up behind Northampton Christian Church in Hampton.

“We’re not about winning, we’re just having fun,” said Chris Hosman, president of the Hampton Public-Service Team.

The annual field day is considered amateur radio’s “open house” by ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio, which organizes the event on the fourth weekend of June.

Clubs set up transmitters and antennas in public places where licensed amateur radio operators, also called Hams, demonstrate the tech’s capabilities to the uninitiated. Some Hams will spend the day feverishly making as many contacts with other operators as possible.

The more contacts made, the more points a club earns. Contacts made on digital modes are worth more than voice contacts. Clubs can also secure points through youth participation, using solar power and getting visited by elected officials during field day. Final scores are released in a few months, ranking clubs by class as determined by the number of active transmitters and the type of set-up used.

Don Mertz, vice president of the Hampton Public-Service Team and Southern Peninsula Amateur Radio Klub, said the competition used to be a bigger deal locally.

“It was pretty normal for us to get 1,000 contacts in 24 hours,” he said.

This year, he said, “we’ll end up with 200 or so.”

Emergency preparedness is more important now for the four local clubs, which were rounded out by the Newport News Amateur Communications Team and the Peninsula Amateur Radio Club. Mertz said that’s partly a result of the area’s geography and storm potential, but emergency communications is also a throughline in the amateur radio world.

It’s common for operators to support emergency management operations around the U.S., with Hams serving as a communications backup during hurricanes and severe weather events. Networks of licensed amateur radio operators were crucial for reporting damage, coordinating assistance and relaying messages when Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina in 2024.

“Amateur radio operators can put up in a field the ability to talk to people anywhere in the world if they want to” with their gear and a battery or power generator when the electricity goes out and other modes of communication have failed, Hosman said.

The Hampton Public-Service Team and Newport News Amateur Communications Team support the emergency management offices of their cities, and they share members with the two standard radio clubs on the Peninsula, several of whom are former military and first responders.

Hosman said getting that network well-acquainted with one another is a big part of field day.

“Rapport is built up in these kinds of events,” he said. “Somebody comes up on the radio and is reporting something ridiculous, if we don’t know that guy then we probably aren’t going to trust his report.”

Finding new recruits is crucial for maintaining those networks, and for keeping amateur radio alive. The number of licensed Hams in the U.S. has fallen fast during the past five years, totaling 743,005, according to ARRL. That’s down more than 35,000 from 2021, wiping out gains made since 2014. Virginia has lost more than 800 licensed Hams since 2021.

It’s why getting younger people exposed to the hobby and potentially into a club, is a focus. Mertz said getting younger newbies to step up as mentors for younger prospective Hams will help.

“So instead of the 15-year-old having to listen to the 75-year-old, he can listen to a 20-year-old”, he said.

Siblings Mary and James Wright were at field day, both licensed as of February. Fifteen-year-old Mary said the new youth movement by ARRL could pay off if done well. Her brother, 17-year-old James, who sped his way to the highest license offered to amateurs by April, agreed.

“The more people that get involved with Ham radio, the more it’ll get out there,” he said. “I’ve made contact with someone in China over Ham radio and I just thought that was so cool – because that was, like, a 7000-mile-away contact.”

We are launching the boat today, just in time for the bonfire on the beach tonight. You can anchor just  offshore and watch the bonfire, fireworks, and band play at the American Legion bandstand....what a country!

Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025 Special Event

The Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise – F8KGS – is proud to announce the activation of a special event amateur radio station: TM5VDL, on the occasion of the “Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025” maritime festival.

Held every few years in the historic port city of Dunkerque, northern France, Les Voiles de Légende is a celebrated gathering of classic and legendary sailing ships from across Europe. The city comes alive with nautical pride, music, maritime culture—and in 2025, with radio waves!

This special callsign TM5VDL will be active from July 5th to 19th, operated by members of F8KGS Radio Club. Operators will be mainly active on HF, sharing the spirit of this majestic event with amateurs worldwide.

A special QSL card will be sent via bureau.

Join us on the air and help us celebrate the union of maritime heritage and amateur radio!

Source: Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise

2025 ARRL Field Day a Success

Tens of thousands of hams are celebrating a successful 2025 ARRL Field Day! The largest annual amateur radio event is also one of the most beloved, as shown by countless social media posts. Activity was high, with 1536 sites in the ARRL Field Day Site Locator, and that doesn’t even count home stations, portable operations, or other participants.

“There’s a reason that hams look forward to ARRL Field Day,” said ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “It is easy to see how much fun people have during the event. Across the country, people come together in town squares, public parks, green spaces, and other locations – all to celebrate the joy of amateur radio and to share it with others,” she said.

PHOTOS: See 2025 ARRL Field Day from around social media

On the town green in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, between Springfield and Worcester, the Quaboag Valley Amateur Radio Club held its activation front and center in the postcard town. There was a steady line of onlookers visiting the setup that stretched out for several hundred yards. Many of them sat down to try their hand at the GOTA (Get On the Air) station. Nestled across from an antique church with a white steeple, and on green grass that surrounds a fountain, the hams brought a steady call of “CQ Field Day” to the quiet hamlet.

Aboard the International Space Station, Astronaut Jonny Kim, KJ5HKP, was active. Social media and YouTube show several clips of hams talking with Kim. James Walker, KC1UYZ, shared a video of his contact with Kim to Instagram and other platforms. “KC1UYZ, welcome to the International Space Station,” said Kim. A quick rest of the contact was followed by enthusiastic whoops from Walker, who was elated to have talked with an orbiting astronaut.

W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut, was active for the event. The station’s three operating studios were configured as a 6F-class station. On Saturday afternoon, and well into the overnight, ARRL Education and Learning Support Specialist Max Freedman, N4ML, was operating alongside Audrey McElroy, KM4BUN. “It is always great to help people get W1AW in their logs,” he said. Freedman is an experienced contester, but this was his first operating event at the historic station. “It is such an honor to operate as W1AW,” he said.

McElroy was honored as the Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year in 2022. She’s in Connecticut for an internship in support of her electrical engineering degree – a career that her ham radio background has inspired.

ARRL Contest Program Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, reports nearly 2500 entries have already been received via the online entry form at field-day.arrl.org/fdentry.php. “We are encouraged by the surge in early submissions, but there’s still time to get entries in,” he said. Bourque noted that Field Day participants should check that all the required supporting documentation related to their entries has been received by checking the Entries Received web page at field-day.arrl.org/fdentriesrcvd.php.

If the status of your entry is listed as Pending Documents, one or more of the required documents still needs to be submitted to complete your entry. Entrants may use the link provided in the confirmation email they received to add additional documents or to modify their entries. Field Day entries must be received by Tuesday, July 29, 2025.

Complete information about ARRL Field Day is available at www.arrl.org/FieldDay

Amateur Radio Newsline Report


NEW WORLD RECORD FOR CW CALLSIGN COPY

JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to Germany where Europe's biggest ham radio trade fair was also the scene of a record-breaking achievement worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records. Jeremy Boot G4NJH brings us up to date.

JEREMY: Ham Radio Friedrichshafen's theme this year centered around remote radio operations but strong attendance proved that hams still like to show up in person to greet one another. An estimated 11,600 guests from 52 countries made the annual trip to Germany.

Many of them were present as the ham radio fair celebrated a record-breaking moment. A 13-year-old radio amateur from Romania surpassed last year's achievement in high-speed telegraphy, As spectators watched, mostly in silence, Ianis Scutaru, YO8YNS, achieved a maximum speed of 1,160 characters per minute for callsign copy - for a total score of 395,191 - landing him in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause only after he had finished and the announcement was made. Ianis, the son of Lucian, YO8SLC, has been practicing Morse Code since the age of 8.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(LUCIAN, YO8SLC; HAM RADIO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN)

**
IN WEST VIRGINIA, A HIGH-FLYING FIELD DAY

JIM/ANCHOR: So how was YOUR Field Day? In West Virginia, it had one radio operator flying high, as we hear from Jen DeSalvo, W9TXJ.

JEN: The East River Amateur Radio Club in Bluefield, West Virginia, picked quite the location for this year's Field Day.

DAVE: We chose the local municipal airport, Mercer County Airport, to be our venue.

JEN: President Dave Lester, N8VFR, said it was in a nice area outside of the airfield where they set up pop-ups and GOTA. As the event was winding down Sunday, and Dave was starting to think about packing up, club member and pilot, Jay Belt, K8CTI…

DAVE ....looked at me and said “let's go get on HF, up in the air.” And of course, I'm not going to say no.

JEN: Jay had put together a station, an H-F rig…

DAVE … just 20 meters. It was a quarter wave end-fed, and he had that ran from wing to tail.

JEN: Being in the air, Dave was easily getting through pile-ups.

DAVE I noticed immediately that I didn't have to turn the VFO very much at all to hear stations. You know, I guess elevation. I was just hearing everything!

JEN: They used Jay’s callsign in the air. Toward the end of the flight, Dave found THE frequency…

DAVE: …and just started calling CQ.

SOUND CLIP: “CQ Field Day – Aeronautical Mobile Station Kilo Eight Charlie Tango India”

JEN: There were some challenges. The logistics of logging and…

DAVE: ...The radio and the tuner were were screwed to this board, and I was having to balance it between my knees because there's nowhere in the plane to mount the thing.

JEN: It was a total of 39 minutes from takeoff to landing. During that time, Dave snagged eleven contacts.
It wasn’t just the aircraft on the air which made the club’s Field Day successful.

DAVE: I was completely blown away and overwhelmed by the public reaction to our Field Day. They just came out of nowhere.

JEN: There were young adults in their twenties, an amateur extra who came to GOTA for his very first time, and several people sign up for the club’s exams.

DAVE: It was definitely a positive impact on the community. And, you know, the, I guess being at the airport was, was kind of a draw.

JEN: I’d say.

SOUND CLIP: "CQ Field Day Aeronautical Station Mobile!"

JEN: Jen DeSalvo W9TXJ

**
SILENT KEY: ROGER SMALLWOOD, N8EKG, R&L ELECTRONICS EXECUTIVE

JIM/ANCHOR: The ham radio community is grieving the loss of Roger Smallwood, N8EKG, president of operations at R&L Electronics in Ohio for more than 40 years. Roger, who had cancer, became a Silent Key on Saturday the 28th of June. In his online obituary, customers and longtime friends alike recalled his friendly, easygoing manner, his helpfulness and his much-anticipated appearances at Dayton Hamvention. Many recalled the family business that helped build, which earned the popular nickname, "The Candy Store" for its assortment of amateur radio equipment.

Roger was 55.

(BROWN-DAWSON-FLICK FUNERAL HOME)

**
RUSSIAN EME COMPETITORS PREP FOR SECOND ROUND

JIM/ANCHOR: For decades now, the race to the moon has always symbolized one of the biggest challenges in global space-based competitions. The Russian EME Contest doesn't use any spacecraft, however, just VHF radio communications - and it's a race to the moon that's stirred interest worldwide for years. Jim Meachen ZL2BHF explains.

JIM: Get ready for the second round of the Russian EME contest, hosted by the Union of Radio Amateurs of Russia. The sixth annual international competition kicked off with its first round on the last weekend in June. Now competitors are preparing for the final round on July 26th and 27th. While the first round was held on 144 MHz, 432 MHz, 5.6 GHz and 24 GHz, the second round will see amateurs trying for EME QSOs utilising 1296 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 10 GHz. Once again, hams will be making use of CW, SSB and the digital modes.


(UNION OF RADIO AMATEURS OF RUSSIA, AMATEUR RADIO DAILY)

**
OHIO YL CHOSEN AS NEWSLINE'S YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR

JIM/ANCHOR: Our panel of judges has selected the 2025 Amateur Radio Newsline Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award winner. Mark Abramowicz NT3V is chairman of the award committee and has the announcement..

MARK: She is 17 years old and from the small town of Columbiana in northeast Ohio. Meet Katie Campbell KE8LQR.

MARK w/KATIE: You are the 2025 Young Ham of the Year

KATIE: Thank you so much.

MARK: Are you surprised?

KATIE:: Uh, yeah, yeah.

MARK: Not expecting a call like this as the summer begins?

KATIE: No, I was not.

MARK:: Katie Campbell is a bright and talented advocate for youth in amateur radio whose interest in the hobby was sparked when she was 10.

KATIE: My school started an amateur radio and electronics club [in] my fifth-grade year open to just middle-schoolers that year. So, I joined and then pretty quickly made the connection that that’s’ like what my family had been sort of involved with. My grandpa had had his license since he was around 14. And, then my mom she’d also had her license since middle school.

MARK: Katie says she quickly got her ham ticket advancing all the way to Extra by the age of 11. She says she then discovered the music of Morse Code. She immersed herself in CW and contesting and rose to become president of K8LPS, the Columbiana School Radio Club located inside the science classroom of Katie’s mom, Colleen Campbell KB8VAQ.

Her dad is Robert Campbell KE8LYZ. Katie’s maternal grandfather is Thomas Frost N8GGK. It was her interest that got him radio active again.

Katie attended the Youth on the Air camp in 2022 in Cincinnati and has been a key staff member ever since, doing public relations and mentoring campers.

Katie has been a regular presenter at forums at the Dayton Hamvention, Hamcation and SEA-PAC.

Katie has another opportunity as she begins her senior year of high school: as an exchange student in Germany. She’s hoping to make amateur radio a part of her experience.

**
RUSSIA WORKS ON MODULES FOR SPACE STATION

JIM/ANCHOR: Russia's space-station partnership with the US will soon be replaced by its own orbital station as Roscosmos prepares its first modules. We hear more from Graham Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM: Just as the US prepares to take the International Space Station out of service in 2030, the space agency Roscosmos plans to launch the first modules for its Russian Orbital Station, the world's first drone platform space station employing robot maintenance. The move also marks the end of international collaboration in space between NASA and Roscosmos.

The Russian space agency is eyeing a 2027 launch for the first segment of its space station - the Scientific and Power Module, as the station enters a near-polar orbit. The full transition to the Russian Orbital Station is expected to be completed by 2030, just as the ISS awaits decommissioning. Other modules are also set for launch in 2030, including the gateway, the universal-node and base modules. Roscosmos expects the spacecraft to establish several stable communication channels by 2030, as the number of communication devices increases over the years. Roscosmos views the space station as a permanent fixture for Russia's space activities well outside of Earth's orbit.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA)

**

FCC ROUNDTABLE FOCUSES ON HURRICANE-RESPONSE COMMUNICATION

JIM/ANCHOR: If you are involved in hurricane-response here in the United States and are hearing this newscast before July 7th, a live-streamed roundtable, hosted by the Federal Communications Commission on that date may be of interest to you. Randy Sly W4XJ explains.

RANDY: The Federal Communications Commission has scheduled a live online roundtable that it hopes will help communicators, public safety workers and power companies improve collaboration during this hurricane season in the US. The Hurricane Season Resiliency Roundtable is taking place on Monday, the 7th of July, and will be conducted by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Advance registration is required.

The program, which can be attended in person or via a livestream, will take place in three panel sessions: “Challenges to Response and Recovery of Power and Communications Outages in the Aftermath of a Hurricane,”will be the first topic covered. Collaboration will be explored in the second session, “Current Government, Intra-Industry and Cross-Industry Partnerships.” The final session will look at planning ahead. It is called “The Advance Preparation Frameworks for Power and Communications.”

The roundtable begins at 9:30 a.m. at FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

To register, see the link in the text version of this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org

[DO NOT READ: https://www.fcc.gov/public-safety/event-registration ]


This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

(FCC, RADIO WORLD)

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Aldir, PY1SAD is on the air as 8R1TM from Guyana until the 8th of July. He is using CW, SSB and the digital modes on 160-6 metres. He is also making contacts via satellite. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

Peter LB2OB is operating holiday style from Jan Mayen, IOTA number EU-022 as JX/LB2OG for the next few weeks. He is operating primarily on 40 and 20 meters, using SSB and FT8. QSL via his home call.

Tim, NØUI is on the air as ZD7TIM from St. Helena, IOTA Number AF-022, through to the 13th of July.
Tim is using CW, SSB and maybe some RTTY on 40-10 metres. Be listening as well on 6 meters if conditions are favorable. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: TOILETS ON THE AIR? GO WITH THE FLOW

JIM/ANCHOR: Our final story isn't exactly a news leak but.....let's just say that we really can't hold it much longer. Neither can Neil Rapp WB9VPG.

NEIL: Are you sitting down? Well, it's time to lift the lid on the news: Toilets on the Air is coming in August. If you happen to be in the New York City area that month, well, you gotta go, you just gotta go! The amateur radio contest was begun by Georg DH5GH at the Chaos Communication Congress, a hacker conference in Germany. It is making its debut in the US at the HOPE 16 conference in New York City in August. Because HOPE is a hub for hackers and innovators, contest organizer Todd Mazierski KE2AEQ, thought this venue would be perfect to launch a creative challenge to licensed hams there. Activators select designated restrooms on the campus of St. John's University to make the most CW, voice and digital contacts with others on 2 meters and 70 cm.

Now let's be clear, activators are permitted to sit or stand while they are doing their business while holding their HTs -- but they must be outside the restroom doors -- and a few meters away. They can only go inside the bathroom to, uh, "go" inside the bathroom for the usual reason. Yes, you heard that right: bathroom breaks are OK. Now that's a relief!

Todd announced the contest on his blog. So did Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL. It's posted on his site, the appropriately named QRPer.com [QR-PEE-er dot com]

THURSDAY EDITION: My favorite holiday coming up along with Thanksgivng, God Bless America!

ARRL® Logbook of The World® Return to Service

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® will return Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) to service at 10:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

We are happy to be bringing the upgraded LoTW servers online, as we know radio amateurs around the world rely on LoTW to receive QSLs and apply for awards. The improvements we made will make no change in the visual appearance of LoTW but will provide e…

Read more American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources – Read More

Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025 Special Event

The following is a message from the Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise:

The Radio Club de l’Agglomération Dunkerquoise - F8KGS - is proud to announce the activation of a special event amateur radio station: TM5VDL, on the occasion of the “Voile des Légendes Dunkerque 2025” maritime festival.

Held every few years in the historic port city of Dunkerque, northern France, Les Voiles de Légende is a celebrated gathering of classic and legendary sailing ships from across Europe. The city comes alive with nautical pride, music, maritime culture—and in 2025, with radio waves!

This special callsign TM5VDL will be active from July 5th to 19th, operated by members of F8KGS Radio Club. Operators will be mainly active on HF, sharing the spirit of this majestic event with amateurs worldwide.

A special QSL card will be sent via bureau.

Join us on the air and help us celebrate the union of maritime heritage and amateur radio!

Ham radio connects the world

Russell Sawyer is a retired doctor who travels the world several times a week. He’s down in his basement searching for other ham radio operators.

"Sometimes this is like fishing," he says. "You wait patiently for someone to talk to."

There are as many as 30,000 operators in Virginia, talking about the weather, the family, the gear they use to send greetings around the world.

To broadcast on frequencies reserved for amateur operators, he had to take a test and pay $15 to the FCC. He spent $400 on some used equipment, ran a hundred-foot antenna from one tree to another in his backyard, and he was in business. This weekend, he plans to join other hams at the Earlysville Fire Station for a 24-hour marathon – hoping to interest others in his hobby.

"We’ve got some young people involved with this -- they’re in high school and have a ham radio license. In fact, I think there’s one fellow in the club who will bring several of his students to the field day and is going to set up an educational activity and do some soldering and go on the air, and we’ve got some older people who are just interested in taking it up as a hobby – learning something new, a chance to learn a new language: Morse code."

It’s fun, he says, and should the grid go down in an emergency, amateur radio operators could provide essential communications with a battery. The Albemarle Amateur Radio Club will be on the air from 2 p.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday and will offer newcomers a chance to try their hand at ham radio.

 

HAMS YOU MIGHT KNOW- ALIVE AND SK

 K1TP- Jon....Editor of As The World Turns....
WB1ABC- Ari..Bought an amp and now we can here him on 75 meters, worships his wife, obsessed with Id'ing
N1BOW-Phil...Retired broadcast engineer, confused and gullible, cheap, only uses singl ply toilet paper
KB1OWO- Larry...Handsome Fellow ,only cuts lawn in August, plows snow the rest in Jackman, Maine
W1GEK- Big Mike....Nearfest Cook, big motor home, electronics software engineer ...
AA1SB- Neil...Living large traveling the country with his girlfriend...loves CW
N1YX- Igor....peddles quality Russian keys, software engineer
K1BGH...Art.....Restores cars and radio gear, nice fella...
N1XW.....Mike-easy going, Harley riding kind of guy!
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can be found at most ham flea market ...Cobra Antenna builder..
KA1GJU- Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who cooks on the side at Hosstrader's...
W1GWU-Bob....one of the Hosstrader's original organizers, 75 meter regular, Tech Wizard!!!
K1PV- Roger....75 meter regular, easy going guy...
W1XER...Scott....easy going guy, loves to split cordwood and hunt...
KB1VX- Barry- the picture says it all, he loves food!
KC1BBU- Bob....the Mud Duck from the Cape Cod Canal, making a lot of noise.
W1STS- Scott...philosopher, hat connoisseur,
KB1JXU- Matthew...75 meter regular...our token liberal Democrat out of Florida
K1PEK-Steve..Founder of Davis-RF....my best friend from high school 
K9AEN-John...Easy going ham found at all the ham fests
K1BQT.....Rick....very talented ham, loves his politics, has designed gear for MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim-  Retired Air Force Controller...told quite a few pilots where to go!
N1OOL-Jeff- The 3936 master plumber and ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce- Computer Tech of 3936...multi talented kidney stone passing ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod, construction company/ice cream shop, hard working man....
W1VAK- Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience in all areas, once was a Jacques Cousteus body guard....
K1BNH- Bill- Used to work for a bottled gas company-we think he has been around nitrous oxide to long
W1HHO- Cal...3941 group
K1MPM- Pete...3941 group
WA1JFX- Russell...3941

SILENT KEYS

Silet Key KA1BXB-Don...Regular on 3900 mornings....just don't mention politics to him, please!
Silent Key N1IOM- 3910 colorful regular
Silent Key WS1D- Warren- "Windy" - Bullnet
Silent Key KMIG-Rick....75 Meter Regular....teaches the future of mankind, it's scary!
Silent Key Neil -K1YPM .....a true gentleman
Silent Key K1BXI- John.........Dr. Linux....fine amateur radio op ....wealth of experience...
Silent KeyVA2GJB- Graham...one of the good 14313 guys back in the day.
Silent Key K1BHV- David...PITA
Silent Key W1JSH- Mort...Air Force man
Silent Key K1MAN--Glen....PITA
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"- Low key gent can be found on many of the 75 meter nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ- Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts truck driver-retired
Silent KeyWB1DVD- Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy going, computer parts selling, New England Ham..
Silent Key W1OKQ- Jack....3936 Wheeling and Dealing......keeping the boys on there toes....
Silent Key W1TCS- Terry....75 meter regular, wealth of electronic knowledge...
Silent Key WIPNR- Mack....DXCC Master, worked them all!.. 3864 regular for many years...
Silent Key WILIM- Hu....SK at 92... 3864 regular for many years...
Silent Key N1SIE- Dave....Loves to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD- Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10", of the 3864 group
Silent Key: W1FSK-Steve....Navy Pilot, HRO Salesman, has owned every radio ever built!
Silent Key: W4NTI-Vietnam Dan....far from easy going cw and ssb op on 14275/313
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill- Loved ham radio....